Friday: Ricciardo moves forward and Vergne falls back for Toro Rosso
Daniel Ricciardo continued to make progress throughout the day, managing to finish just outside the Top 10 in the afternoon, which strongly encourages him for a good qualification on Saturday. Meanwhile, Jean-Eric Vergne is struggling with unidentified issues on his car that caused him to drop from 11th to 18th place between the morning and the afternoon.
Daniel Ricciardo – 13th and 11th:
This morning went well, even though we were lacking a bit of speed, but we made progress over the 90 minutes. This allowed us to get closer to the Top 10 in the afternoon, but there is still some work to be done. Here, everyone seems to be struggling a bit with graining. Unfortunately, my second session ended a little early because I slid too wide at the chicane and went over the curb. This damaged the car and I had to stop. This means I wasn’t able to do a long stint, but I hope we can find the time to do it tomorrow morning. I still feel capable and the potential is there to make it to Q3 tomorrow.
Jean-Éric Vergne – 11th and 18th:
« It was a mixed Friday, quite good in the morning, but much worse in the afternoon. In the first session, I had a good feeling with the car, and my times were good, but this afternoon… I lost a second per lap, for reasons we really don’t understand right now, so understanding this situation is our first priority tonight. The tire situation seems interesting, as I could see many other cars showing signs of graining. I had it too, so it certainly means we can expect a different and possibly more exciting race than what we saw here last year. »
